Burglary suspect withdraws guilty pleas; trial moved

William Artadi, the 20-year-old Jackson man who last year agreed to plead guilty to 13 counts of burglary, successfully filed motions Monday to withdraw his guilty pleas and have his trial moved to Scott County.

Artadi was represented in court by attorney Jennifer Booth, who argued before Circuit Court Judge William Syler that her client had good reason to believe that his guilty plea, entered for the burglary charges in November, was binding in that seven other counts of burglary-related charges by the Cape Girardeau County Prosecutor's office would be dismissed. Artadi, one of three men charged in a monthlong spree, faced 20 counts of burglary, but that number was reduced to 13 through the plea deal.

However, Syler rejected the plea agreement in December because it didn't allow him the flexibility to sentence Artadi, who has no previous criminal record, to prison for at least 10 years.

On Monday, Booth said Artadi believed his guilty plea agreement was a binding agreement, and the court must allow him to withdraw his guilty plea if the court chooses not to accept the agreement pursuant to Missouri Supreme Court rules.

Jack Koester, Cape Girardeau County assistant prosecutor, accepted the motion but reminded the court the charges that were previously dismissed would be reinstated. Syler ruled in favor of Artadi's motion but said the seven charges that had been dismissed "would be back on the table."

Booth also presented the motion for a change of venue for cause, which, according to her, was necessary "to insure Mr. Artadi a fair trial."

Booth said media coverage, particularly print-media coverage, of her client's case and his guilty pleas had been "constant and pervasive." She contended that the details of Artadi's case had regularly been "featured and detailed on the front page of the county's premier news source, the Southeast Missourian," adding that it had been on the front page of the newspaper 13 times.

Booth added that "Cape Girardeau County is not a metropolitan area where many crimes are reported and covered in the media daily, so as to make the details of the reported crimes indistinguishable from other reports or difficult to remember for the members of the community."

Artadi's case should be moved to Scott County, she argued. Syler expressed doubts that Artadi would receive only a small amount of media coverage there.

"They read the Southeast Missourian and have other newspapers in Scott County, too, don't they?" he asked Booth.

The matter was rendered moot when Koester accepted the defense's motion for change of venue, and Syler ruled in its favor.

After the hearing, Koester said the prosecutor's office should be hearing from Scott County officials about Artadi's trial in the coming weeks.

Artadi is in custody in the Cape Girardeau County Jail in lieu of a $35,000 cash-only bond.

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

100 Court St., Jackson, Mo.